The proliferation of electronic devices, specifically handheld electronic devices, places a new importance on thorough, precise and accurate diagnostic systems to detect hardware and software problems. Oftentimes, electronic devices that are believed to have defects are returned by retailers to manufacturer service centers at the manufacturer's expense without having any real problem at all. High volumes of such returns can obviously cost a manufacturer a significant amount of money.
Current diagnostic systems utilized by the retailer's personnel usually include a technician using a paper based flow chart to manually diagnose problems with returned electronic devices. Oftentimes, these flow charts are difficult to follow, imprecise and not thorough in the terms of the number of test items available. Compounding the problem is the high turnover rate of technicians employed by the retailers of electronic devices. Furthermore, current diagnostic systems are not automatic nor interactive.